Humane Society, 03-17-11

It had been way too long since I had been able to get over to the shelter. Even for all the obvious and profound emotional difficulty involved, dare I say I "enjoy" volunteering at the Humane Society? There is much heaviness in the reality of shelters, but such is why, when I volunteer, I feel an intense, almost overwhelming sense of...just pure Love. I mean the true kind of love, that involves just as much pain as it does beauty. It feels good to spend time with each individual animal, focusing only on them during the short time we have together. If only for fifteen minutes, I can run around with whichever sweet buddy is mine for the moment. We can play and get fresh air, and I can watch and feel how happy they are to have some outside, one-on-one, active playtime all to themselves. These dogs appreciate that 15 minutes to the core of their hearts. And for me to know I've been able to give them that happiness...well, it gets to the core of my heart, too.

I can't focus on the dark fact that I will not be able to "save them all". Instead, I must put my energy into bringing positivity and strength to these dogs. To do otherwise would be selfish. That's not to say that I don't break down and cry. Because I do. It happened yesterday when I was holding a six month old kitten, named Claudia. But for me to wallow in the sadness I surely felt (for good reason), would have taken away from the scratches and snuggles and love and attention I was able to give Claudia in those brief moments I spent with her.

It is true that I may come back next week, and Claudia and Spike and Hoku, from yesterday, may not be there. I pray that they are getting adopted into loving, forever homes. Every single one of them...because that is what every single dog and cat deserves. But I'm not so naive as to believe that none of them are being euthanized, simply because they exist and there is not room for them in the world.

I believe that the way we choose to view something is exactly the way we unconsciously create it. And I am thusly empowered by the idea of CONSCIOUSLY CREATING our reality, rather than passively experiencing what seems to "befall us" from some outside realm. With regard to shelters, I am consciously deconstructing my old perception of shelters, and remaking the future into a hopeful one, rather than a hopeless one.

The way I perceive animals in shelters is the result of a CHOICE I've made. For the animals' sake and my own, I have chosen to look for the beauty and opportunity in every minute I share with each shelter animal. This is a way for me to deal with my empathetic pain for them, productively. I'm not ignoring the problem (that shelters even have to exist). Instead, I am empowered doing the things that ARE within my power to do for the animals. All I have is my Self to give. So that's exactly what I do. I bring in the copious amounts of angelic energy that surround me - thanks to the incredibly powerful Spirit Army my family has growing on the other side. I extract power from every powerful thing there is...the ocean, the moon, the sun, the majestic beauty of the Big Island...and if only for fifteen minutes, I give ALL of that love and power and beauty to the dog at my feet. Watching the dogs RUN, to fetch a ball, or to run with me as I sprint laps around the Bark Park, is the ultimate reward. I can only imagine the physical, psychological and emotional paralysis that comes with living in a cage, when every cell in your body is born to MOVE. I can see in their faces, and feel emanating from their souls, that to get outside and RUN is the greatest gift any dog could receive. I am learning how to focus on what I CAN do for shelter animals, rather than dwelling on the futile things that are beyond my control.

Nothing about the whole shelter "situation" will change...until we do the work to change it. I believe the first step is reshaping the PERCEPTION of what an animal shelters are, and what fate awaits the animals that stay for a time between their walls. Once we begin thinking differently, and focusing on the potential for how we can make the lives of these animals better, during every minute they do have...then shelters will become a place of opportunity and growth for animals. We can create that better experience for animals by eventually making each facility part shelter, part fitness rehabilitation center (with swimming pools and rocks to climb and treadmills), part play area, part agility course...Why do shelters have to be run like prisons? Why not create shelters to be more like dog daycares? Environments where we can nurture the best, strongest aspects of each dog, and help bring out the best in them. We could give shelter animals an opportunity to SHOW potential adopters, just how GOOD they can be...if given the right kind of love, fulfillment and leadership.

Rather than feeling pity for these animals, let us instead empower them. Rather than focusing on the number of dwindling days an animal has left to live...let us instead make every minute of what days remain fulfilling and joyful. Dogs live only in the moment anyway. So we need to meet them there, for as many minutes as we can spare out of a busy work week, and make sure they each feel loved. Rather than staying stuck in the mire of "animal-shelters-as-death-row-prison-cells", let us create something completely different. It is only when we expect great things of ourselves, do we become capable of making the great things we envision...actual.